The Last Hero: A Life of Henry AAron (2010)
In the thirty-four years since his retirement, Henry (Hank) Aaron’s reputation has only grown in magnitude. But his influence extends beyond statistics, and at long last here is the first definitive biography of one of baseball’s immortal figures.
Based on meticulous research and extensive interviews The Last Hero reveals how Aaron navigated the upheavals of his time—fighting against racism while at the same time benefiting from racial progress—and how he achieved his goal of continuing Jackie Robinson’s mission to obtain full equality for African Americans, both in baseball and society, while he lived uncomfortably in the public eye. Eloquently written, detailed and penetrating, this is a revelatory portrait of a complicated, private man who through sports became an enduring American icon.
Beautifully written and culturally important . . . tells the Aaron story with gusto and a ferocious sweep. . . . Bryant may just have given us a classic.”
—The Washington Post
“Illuminating and rigorously researched.”
—New York Times Book Review
“A welcome and long-overdue portrait . . . thoughtful, insightful and deeply engaging. . . . It easily stands as one of the most impressive profiles of a ballplayer in years.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Bryant is a great writer for a great subject. . . . Mr. Aaron’s story is the epic baseball tale of the second half of the 20th century.”
—Atlanta Journal Constitution
“Impressive. . . . Nuanced. . . . For baseball junkies, The Last Hero offers enough about ballplayers of the era and the game to amply satisfy. But fortunately this book offers more. This is not mere hagiography. This is the tale of a man performing in the public eye, laboring under a persona projected by others with preconceptions of their own, but who gradually moves forward in his quest for self-determination.”
—Bill Nowlin, The Boston Globe